


Lioness

by Trans_Queer_Punk



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Scorpia deserved better, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Wish Fulfillment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 00:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22006846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trans_Queer_Punk/pseuds/Trans_Queer_Punk
Summary: On a bright desert morning, Scorpia reflects on the love of her life and the progress they’ve both made.(AU where Catra and Scorpia stay in the Crimson Waste.)
Relationships: Catra/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	Lioness

“Good morning, wildcat,” Scorpia says, kissing Catra on the cheek. Catra shifts in their shared bed, and Scorpia detects the hint of a smile.

“Jus’ let me sleep five more minutes,” Catra slurs. “Okay,” Scorpia smiles, getting out of bed to make breakfast. By “five more minutes,” Catra means at least a quarter of an hour, but Scorpia doesn’t mind. After her morning affirmations, she likes to sit by their window and think while she drinks her morning cup of tea.

At one point, Scorpia had thought she needed to protect Catra. The other woman was wounded. She lashed out, trying to push everyone away if they got too close. The cadets dismissed her as a bitch, a tyrant, and while Scorpia couldn’t blame them for it, she knew there was more to Catra. That Catra was worth fighting for. 

With every smile, every laugh the two shared, every moment of kindness Catra let slip out, Scorpia’s resolve strengthened. Catra was a good person. She didn’t let it show to the outside world, but Scorpia could see through Catra’s facade to the person underneath. Even when Catra would try to push Scorpia away, Scorpia maintained faith.

Scorpia’s perseverance paid off about a year after the two had first met. It was late one night, on a Horde ship going eastbound to find some First Ones relic. Catra was doing it again, waving away Scorpia’s compliments with sarcastic one-liners. This game was kind of fun, Scorpia thought. Like playing with a cat.

There was a silence, and then Catra snapped. “I’m an asshole to you! Why do you keep being nice to me?” 

“Because you deserve better than everyone hating you, Catra.” Scorpia sees a flash of emotion in Catra’s eyes and it is then that the first concrete sign of progress reveals itself to her. 

Catra doesn’t argue after that. Scorpia moves over to sit next to Catra, and for once the other Force Captain doesn’t pull away. 

They start dating a month after.

It’s hard. For every time Shadow Weaver insulted Catra, Scorpia must work three times harder to get Catra to believe that Shadow Weaver was wrong. For every wound that Shadow Weaver inflicted upon Catra, Scorpia has to labor exponentially harder to repair it. Most days, it feels like pushing a boulder uphill. But Scorpia doesn’t give up.

She would be lying if she said that there weren’t days when she questioned herself. When she wondered if it had all been a waste. But every time Catra would smile at her, or kiss her, or even give Scorpia gifts, she was provided with her answer. Slow as it was, Catra was undeniably improving. 

Even now, there are still times when her old habits surface again, when she lashes out with any verbal attack she can think of. In these moments, Scorpia sees the powerless child of Catra’s past. Scorpia weathers the storm, and afterwards, when Catra cries and punches walls and occasionally tries to run away, Scorpia holds her close and reassures her that she doesn’t hate her, that she won’t leave.

* * *

Scorpia is an optimist, by choice. She has seen terrible things, terrible people. But she can’t let them pull her down with her. 

It’s easy, so easy to be a pessimist. When you’ve seen the things that Scorpia has seen, giving up on humanity almost comes naturally. It’s easy to be bitter, like Catra has been for so long. But Scorpia’s mothers have taught her better than that. 

“Kindness is not a weakness,” she remembers hearing. “It is easy to hate, Scorpia. It takes strength to see something for what it truly is and continue loving it. To see it for all its flaws, and instead of ignoring them, accepting them. That is the greatest act of strength any of us can aspire to.”

Now, sitting next to Catra, Scorpia understands what they meant. 

She hopes her mothers would be proud of her. Scorpia likes to think they would. She wipes a tear away, smiling. 

Scorpia has always disliked the Horde, but she didn’t have anywhere else to go. The Princesses wouldn’t accept her, not then and especially not now, after she’s fought against the Rebellion. But after Catra’s exile to the Crimson Waste, Scorpia has discovered that there are other options. 

Catra is a natural leader, and it isn’t long before she climbs to the top of the Crimson Waste food chain. Soon, they have staked out a place for themselves in the desert, establishing their territory. Catra has made many enemies, but she has also made allies. 

At one point, Scorpia had thought she needed to protect Catra. Now, she knows better. Catra has seen the worst of the world, the worst Etheria has to offer, but she has come out on the other side. Catra is a kitten no longer. She is a lioness.


End file.
